Ryan Newman, No. 12 Alltel "Fastap" Dodge Charger - Watkins Glen Cup Advance
NNCS Notes:
Ryan Newman, driver of the No. 12 Alltel “Fastap” Dodge Charger, will make his fifth NASCAR Cup Series start at Watkins Glen International on Sunday and his 174th in the series.
Newman’s lowest starting position at the 2.45-mile road course is 13th in August 2003. His three other starts have all been from the top 10, including his career-best fifth-place start in his first race at The Glen in 2002. Newman’s average starting position is 8.75.
With a 16.75 average finish, Newman has had some good runs at The Glen and some not-so-good ones. His last two starts at the track have ended in a 26th- (2004) and a 30th-place finish (2005). In his first two starts at the New York track, Newman finished ninth (2003) and had a career-best finish of second in his first start at The Glen.
Newman has led only 12 laps in four races at Watkins Glen – 11 laps in 2002 and one lap in last year’s race. However, he has completed all but one lap on the historic road course, giving him a completion rate of 99.723 percent. He has completed 361 laps of 362.
Matt Borland, crew chief of the No. 12 Alltel “Fastap” Dodge Charger, and the Alltel team will take chassis PRS-74 to this weekend’s SIRIUS Satellite Radio at The Glen. This is the same race car the team took to the road-course race at Infineon Raceway in June. In Sonoma, the car qualified fourth and finished second, giving the team its best finish of the year. This car also was tested at Carolina Motorsports Park and Infineon Raceway in 2005. Newman raced this car at Sonoma and Watkins Glen last year. At Infineon in 2005, the car started 11th and finished ninth, while at Watkins Glen, Newman started seventh (based on owners’ points after qualifying was rained out) and finished 30th due to transmission and brake problems.
Newman on The Glen:
“We usually have a pretty good run at the road courses. This car ran really well earlier this year in California and we’re hoping that we can get the same kind of performance this weekend.”
“This team has had their share of problems lately and it seems no matter how hard everyone has worked, something always goes wrong. I think all the guys are looking forward to this race, though, just because of the way we were able to run in Sonoma. We’re taking the same car and we know that it’s capable of winning at a road course.”
Quick Stats:
Watkins Glen International: 4
Races Led/Laps Led: 2/12
Best Starting Position: 5 (8/11/02)
Best Finishing Position: 2 (8/11/02)
August 2005 Start: 7
August 2005 Finish: 30
